SMART AGENCY/ TECH TALK
Appy Hour
Is it time for commercial lines to get in on the app game? By Morgan Smith
Striving to keep the agent at the center point of communica-
“Agencies need to look at this now because if they wait, they’ll follow the wave,” Johnson says. “They want to be on the front-end of that and in control of their client engagement.” Morgan Smith (morgan.smith@iiaba.net) is IA assistant editor. 30 iamagazine.com r April 2015
TAKING THE MOBILE LEAP? Here are the top four questions to ask yourself: 1. Does your business acknowledge that mobile is more transformative than the Web? 2. Does your business recognize it needs to be on the mobile platform for consumers? 3. Does your business understand how your customers do or could interact with your business on the mobile platform? 4. Has your business capitalized on mobile? What has it done to move forward? —M.S.
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tion, existing mobile insurance apps give policyholders easy access to agency contact information, create home inventory reports, store auto/home policy information and photos or fill out an auto accident report. Notice anything? The majority of features in today’s apps not only simply store information, but also serve primarily personal lines needs. Could the next app evolution focus on commercial lines? “We certainly have on our road map a more commercially based app,” says Matt Aaron, co-founder of Blue I—a third-party company that started development of the Insurance Agent mobile app for independent agencies in 2012. “When you ask agencies right now, ‘Where’s your No. 1 need regarding commercial policies?’ It’s with certificates of insurance—that’s the No. 1 thing agencies are consistently asked for by their commercial clients.” Certificates are just the tip of the iceberg for commercial features. Other potential functions include: ■ Claims. Steve Cote, president of Chalmers Insurance Group and adopter of the Insurance Agent app, mentions features such as “having the ability to register the claim, a GPS tracking feature that shows the date, time and location of the claim and being able to take photos and send them directly to the claims supervisor.” ■ Policy changes. Although this client service requires agent interaction, “you have to have it verified anyhow,” explains Kiki Johnson, co-founder of the Insurance Agent mobile app. “So what’s the initial step you may want to take through a mobile app to facilitate engagement?” ■ Mobile payments. Aaron calls this a mobile moment ripe for opportunity: “someone’s trying to pay you money, so make it easy.” Johnson agrees, adding that agents are missing out on up to 12 client touch points a year and that this feature “allows them to have the customer captive within their app, see what their customers are doing and follow up with the customer, recognizing if they did send or are late on a payment.” ■ Risk control. This would involve the ability to either “contact a particular risk control representative directly to inquire about mitigation or link into different sites directly that might be able to help them,” Cote says.
SMART AGENCY/ TECH TALK
Ready to Wear? Implications of the growing wearable device market By Morgan Smith
watches. These are just a few instigators in a global trend that’s taking wearable technology devices from personal lives into the workplace—and bringing with it the potential for liabilities previously unconsidered. “What we’re seeing is the development of the technology into consumer-oriented products,” says Mike Heembrock, workers comp and commercial auto loss control specialist at Chubb. And although “we’re in an awareness development stage right now,” employees are already beginning to use wearables at work—and some companies are taking advantage of their capabilities to improve safety, collaboration and efficiency. According to a survey conducted between human resources software and services company Kronos and Harris Poll, 48% of Americans believe wearable technologies could benefit the workplace—but only one-fifth have experience using a wearable device for work-related activities. As these devices become more integrated into everyday workflow, potential for loss of company data and personal information is becoming a threat. For agents approaching a client who is either already using or considering these devices at home or in the workplace, Heembrock advises starting with general legal questions and understanding the potential pathways that could lead to loss of data. “You need to look at how the wearable is being used, how critical the information is and what purpose the wearable device is serving,” he says, adding that liability arises from heavy dependency on its collected information. “I think the logic to sort through the liability is similar to the logic you would apply to products liability for other diagnostic medical equipment,” Heembrock says. “Employers need to be conscious of their presence and apply a risk assessment to answer questions about whether to use or not to use wearable devices, and what policies and procedures might need to be adopted to make sure they’re not underused, overused or used inappropriately.” Despite worries about privacy and data security, 31% of Americans have no concerns about using wearable technology in the workplace—so expect the trend to become more permanent this year. Morgan Smith (morgan.smith@iiaba.net) is IA assistant editor.
28 iamagazine.com r January 2015
ARE YOU WEARING AN INSURANCE DISCOUNT? A PwC report reveals that wearable devices will have the biggest impact on the entertainment, media and communications, health, retail and tech industries. Results show 68% of consumers would wear employerprovided wearables that stream anonymous data in exchange for a break on their insurance premiums. In some companies, “the employer is actually promoting or interfacing with wearable devices for health promotions,” Heembrock says. The overwhelming majority (77%) who assert potential for more efficient and productive work with a wearable device also say their company should fund wearable technology (46%). “I think smart employers are getting a sense of how their employees are using this technology,” Heembrock says. —M.S.
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Rent Check
Want to access millenials? Use renters insurance to connect with them By Morgan Smith
According to The National Multi
22 iamagazine.com • June 2015
Instagram, Facebook and YouTube. Because the two most commonly searched words on YouTube are “how to,” she suggests agents shoot a quick three-minute video about “how to get renters insurance” or “how to protect your assets as a renter.” Another tactic is direct outreach, what McDonald calls “feet on the street.” “If you’re doing it in the true spirit of ‘let me help educate you,’ you may or may not make a sell today,” she says. “But you’re planting seeds, and people don’t forget that.” Agents can also work with local community colleges to host free seminars—a 45-minute session on insurance basics and how to protect your belongings, for example. These strategies are effective because millennials have a hard time finding a trusted guide. “They can research all they want, but they still won’t understand it the way an insurance professional would,” McDonald says. “In one focus group we did about insurance with millennials, one of them said ‘an algorithm doesn’t necessarily have my best interests at heart.’ If you help people, you will sell them.” Morgan Smith (morgan.smith@iiaba.net) is IA assistant editor.
WORK SMARTER The Insurance Information Institute reveals a jump from 7 million renters policies in 2006 to 10.7 million in 2012—an increase that may be attributable to many property management companies and apartment complexes requiring renters insurance as a part of the lease. Brian Richards, a renters insurance expert at Rent Your Bubble, advises agents to partner with property management companies because “if it’s not purchased online, [renters insurance] is purchased while they’re signing their lease,” he says. McDonald agrees—adding that state and local apartment associations are bigger and better targets. “They are the professional associations, so why wouldn’t you want to align yourself on a professional level and get exposure there to partner with their different members?” —M.S. RIOU/GETTY IMAGES
Housing Council, 72% of householders age 30 or younger live in rental housing. But an Insurance Information Institute poll reports that only 37% of renters had renters insurance in 2014. Millennials in particular may be oblivious to the added value renters coverage provides for a relatively low price tag: A January 2015 report from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners used 2012 data to determine a $187 average annual premium for the coverage. “I don’t believe a lot of parents today have done a good job preparing their kids to be independent when it comes to financial literacy,” says Kelly McDonald, president of McDonald Marketing and best-selling author of “How to Market to People Not Like You.” That’s what makes renters insurance a useful opportunity to start an ongoing conversation with millennials about protecting their assets for the rest of their lives. At the top end of the 18-35 year-old spectrum, financial needs are changing dramatically as millennials enter life changes. On the younger side, brand preferences and financial needs are in flux—which means they need a guide to help them make decisions. “Millennials are the sweet spot for the insurance industry,” McDonald says. “There is no downside at all to the millennial market across the age spectrum—there’s opportunity.” And one that requires catering marketing efforts to a younger demographic. McDonald is an advocate for utilizing social media—especially